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BPwildcatJan 16, 2:19 PM

The Path Back

I think most of BBN would agree that since the 2010–2019 run, Kentucky is no longer the "gold standard" in college basketball. During that era, we were the program everyone pointed to, the cool school, churning out a national championship, a runner-up finish, multiple Final Fours, Elite Eights, and even a 38–0 season. Right now, we are as far removed from that level as we were during the Billy Gillispie year in 2009. Last season was fun. We had a gritty, likable group that finished in the middle of the SEC and made a run to the Sweet 16. For Year 1 of the Pope era, that was absolutely something to be excited about. But this year, reality has hit. Injuries, a roster that doesn’t quite fit, and a team that’s essentially trying to grind its way into the tournament—hopefully avoiding the play-in game in Dayton. So we know exactly where the program stands today: off the national radar and no longer the needle-mover in college basketball. The question is, how do we get back? In my opinion, this has to be blown up in the offseason. Here’s what I see as the best path forward: [LIST=1] [*]Hire a true home-run General Manager to run Kentucky men’s basketball someone on the cutting edge of roster construction, NIL, and analytics. Not just another former player hire. [*]Make targeted staff changes. I like Mark Fox, but I think we can upgrade. I’m also not fully sold on a couple of the other assistants. [*]Land two Top-30 high school recruits. Kentucky has to reestablish itself as a destination for elite high school talent. [*]Retain Moreno, Williams, Jasper, and Chandler to form a core four that can legitimately contribute in the rotation. [*]Make a massive splash in the transfer portal:
  • #1 point guard
  • #1 shooting guard
  • #1 power forward
  • Two elite shooters
[*]Play summer exhibitions against high-level pro teams. Test this group early, fail fast, and identify weaknesses before the season starts. [/LIST] This program doesn’t need a tweak, it needs a reset with intention. That’s the path back to relevance.
31 Replies
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BigBlueCC

Jan 16, 2:25 PM

Well said! 💯
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WildcatWanderer

Jan 16, 2:26 PM

I like all these notes. I will say Pope didn’t have any of This year one, and when that team was healthy, they could’ve beaten anyone. I just want Pope to recruit the best players for his system and stop worrying about building a team that can beat Nate Oats. get a GM and focus on doing what he does best at the highest level possible
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Res Non Verba

Jan 16, 2:26 PM

I had hope in Pope, but no longer. He's a good coach and has a brilliant mind, but he's not cut out for this. Recruiting is as dismal as I can remember. This players seem disoriented, distracted, and maybe even disinterested. We'll need a new coach before we can discuss any further changes. I'm in the same place with Pope as I was with Stoops in the fall.
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jedwar

Jan 16, 2:30 PM

I truly think Pope is not for this. I hope I'm proven wrong but I just don't see it. I think throwing big money at 2-3 studs and then fill with role players. We have a roster of role players that are simply making too much.
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KWickly

Jan 16, 2:37 PM

I agree with most of what you're saying but ratings-wise Kentucky still moves the needle more than 95% of teams.
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OldDocCat

Jan 16, 2:38 PM

We're really doing this......(again....and again....and again)........... So we know exactly where the program stands today: off the national radar and no longer the needle-mover in college basketball. We may not be the gold standard now, especially as a stand-alone entity.......but we certainly remain very much on the national radar according to all of my Doppler trends.
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KentuckyCats1984

Jan 16, 2:39 PM

The problem is, UK is flirting with missing the tournament, and the bloom is off the rose of a successful start to Pope's tenure (sweet 16). Opposing coaches will play the major card that Pope is a lame duck and will not last. Unless they do a complete 180 for the rest of this season, things are looking bleak.
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FoxMonkBAM!

Jan 16, 3:09 PM

OldDocCat said:
We're really doing this......(again....and again....and again)........... So we know exactly where the program stands today: off the national radar and no longer the needle-mover in college basketball. We may not be the gold standard now, especially as a stand-alone entity.......but we certainly remain very much on the national radar according to all of my Doppler trends.
I agree in the sense that we are not relevant to national championship conversations. I would say we still move the needle as far as people still use the Kentucky name for clicks/views.
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pete peterson

Jan 16, 3:11 PM

BPwildcat said:
I think most of BBN would agree that since the 2010–2019 run, Kentucky is no longer the "gold standard" in college basketball. During that era, we were the program everyone pointed to, the cool school, churning out a national championship, a runner-up finish, multiple Final Fours, Elite Eights, and even a 38–0 season. Right now, we are as far removed from that level as we were during the Billy Gillispie year in 2009. Last season was fun. We had a gritty, likable group that finished in the middle of the SEC and made a run to the Sweet 16. For Year 1 of the Pope era, that was absolutely something to be excited about. But this year, reality has hit. Injuries, a roster that doesn’t quite fit, and a team that’s essentially trying to grind its way into the tournament—hopefully avoiding the play-in game in Dayton. So we know exactly where the program stands today: off the national radar and no longer the needle-mover in college basketball. The question is, how do we get back? In my opinion, this has to be blown up in the offseason. Here’s what I see as the best path forward: [LIST=1] [*]Hire a true home-run General Manager to run Kentucky men’s basketball someone on the cutting edge of roster construction, NIL, and analytics. Not just another former player hire. [*]Make targeted staff changes. I like Mark Fox, but I think we can upgrade. I’m also not fully sold on a couple of the other assistants. [*]Land two Top-30 high school recruits. Kentucky has to reestablish itself as a destination for elite high school talent. [*]Retain Moreno, Williams, Jasper, and Chandler to form a core four that can legitimately contribute in the rotation. [*]Make a massive splash in the transfer portal:
  • #1 point guard
  • #1 shooting guard
  • #1 power forward
  • Two elite shooters
[*]Play summer exhibitions against high-level pro teams. Test this group early, fail fast, and identify weaknesses before the season starts. [/LIST] This program doesn’t need a tweak, it needs a reset with intention. That’s the path back to relevance.
Well said. Especially about the GM hire. Love Nazr or Tayshaun but let's go get the best guy that will help Pope and this program. All of this is possible and would help immensely
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tbrown1229

Jan 16, 3:35 PM

It all starts with recruiting top end talent that matches your desired play style. We do not have that nor am I confident Pope can magically begin recruiting at a high level.
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Jn12

Jan 16, 3:37 PM

Great post and agree with all this although point #5 is very unrealistic. Really I’d just like to see us get at least 1 elite combo guard (someone similar to Ryan Conwell) and a good PF that fits with the rest of the team. If you can maintain Moreno he’s probably one of the best centers in the country next year, and Kam should take a jump. Whether Lowe is here or not we need another PG too, and another shooter as well. My ideal but realistic roster for next year is: PG: Lowe + another similar PG (Acaden would have been perfect, unfortunately) to split time. If Lowe is gone then maybe you get a stud but honestly most of the transfer PGs even this year aren’t stars so I don’t know if we can bank on this for next year SG: Star a la Conwell SF: Kam PF: player along the lines of Taylor Bol Bowen or a similar skilled 4 who’s a respectable shooter and can defend multiple positions C: Moreno Bench would need a backup center, another shooter (a bigger guy similar to Kam who could play 2-4 would be awesome), hopefully Chandler takes a jump, and then Jasper. HS commit would be awesome but feels unrealistic at this point
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Jn12

Jan 16, 3:37 PM

Obviously Hawthorne is the wild card ^
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harperlashbrook

Jan 16, 3:41 PM

It all starts with the GM and changing the entire approach to the program like we are seeing with football currently.
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apriar94

Jan 16, 3:46 PM

1. GM should be the first thing done. I won't take Pope seriously until that's done. 2. Agree on staff changes, Jason Hart is the only guy I'm sold on but his recruiting hasn't even sniffed expectations. 3. This recruiting cycle has me extremely worried about his recruiting ability, if he doesn't fix it then he has to go 4. I'm fine letting Jasper go, but I wouldn't be mad with him coming back 5. See 1 & 3 6. If it doesn't make the university money, Mitch isn't going to green light it
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forloveofthegame

Jan 16, 3:56 PM

I just want Kentucky to do what Kentucky has done with very few exceptions: win and win a lot. I get it, parity and all that, the league is better blah blah blah. Ok, but we’re Kentucky and everything you could possibly need to win, you have access to here. We have more money than most. We care, unlike most teams in the top 25 right now. Alabama has been really good for the better part of this decade and their fans need cue cards to know when to cheer. Florida just won a championship and they probably couldn’t tell you who Todd Golden is or pick Walter Clayton Jr out of a lineup. Kentucky basketball should operate outside of the athletics department of UK. It’s just a different animal. All of this irrelevant talk is nonsense. If Pope is smart and humble enough to admit he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and he goes and hires a GM and listens to his assistants (Hart, McLean, and Brooks), he could get this thing rolling again. If the next guy does that, he could get it rolling. Now look, we’d still lose games. We’d still lose recruits (even Cal struck out from time to time). The fanbase would still FTFO about all of it. But you could operate from a sense of calm that you’re doing all the right things and if you continue doing that at Kentucky, you win a title. But if you hold on too tight and you don’t admit faults and you don’t eat some humble pie on occasion, this game punishes you. It’s undefeated in that regard. I just wonder if Pope has the right combination of humility and sheer doggedness to get it done.
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forloveofthegame

Jan 16, 4:09 PM

Also, the two most important positions on a Mark Pope team are the point guard and the power forward. When Butler and Carr were healthy, we were pretty good. Both were right in the middle of all our big wins. Whatever we do this offseason, the mission is this: get a dog at PG (and wrap him in bubble wrap), and get a power forward who has some shooting ability and some ball skills. Then load up on shooters and see what happens. Mark Pope’s offense and style, when run properly, is the 3 ball evolution version of what Daggum Roy was doing at UNC. Go back and look at his elite teams. Look who was playing PG and PF for those teams.
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Sxndman

Jan 16, 4:13 PM

Pope has to hit on a PG next year, just has to. He also really needs to make sure he keeps Williams and Moreno. I’ll throw chandler in there too. I know people get mad at chandler but he has a lot of talent and to get the experienced seniors that everyone always claim they want, they have to go through growing pains with these players.
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Jn12

Jan 16, 4:16 PM

Sxndman said:
Pope has to hit on a PG next year, just has to. He also really needs to make sure he keeps Williams and Moreno. I’ll throw chandler in there too. I know people get mad at chandler but he has a lot of talent and to get the experienced seniors that everyone always claim they want, they have to go through growing pains with these players.
Agree 100% about Chandler. Most of my disappointment with him stems from maybe my initial unrealistic expectations after we saw what he looked like early on in the season, but even as he’s come down to Earth it’s still a big jump from where he was at this time last year. Still think he can be a very solid and reliable player for us, even if it’s not until next year
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BigBlueWienerFan

Jan 16, 4:28 PM

Good stuff here. I agree with most points. I don’t think you have to necessarily add 2 top 30 players in this class. If you can somehow end up with Holt and/or Collins, that would be amazing. Holt is more important though. After that, I’m not sure there is anybody worth picking up. Also, we need to retain Hawthorne as much as anybody. Hawthorne would most likely be a 5-star if he were in 2026. He was a late riser in a loaded 2025 class and ended up being a top 35 recruit. Retain Moreno, Hawthorne, Kam, one of Jasper/Chandler, and get the pieces from the portal you talked about.
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HoochieMan

Jan 16, 4:48 PM

If I was asked to set the over/under on how many of those 6 points Pope actually does, I'd put the line at 0.5. We've seen Pope work for a year and a half at this point, we all know he isn't going to make these changes, aside from trying to retain those players.
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BPwildcat

Jan 16, 6:22 PM

WildcatWanderer said:
I like all these notes. I will say Pope didn’t have any of This year one, and when that team was healthy, they could’ve beaten anyone. I just want Pope to recruit the best players for his system and stop worrying about building a team that can beat Nate Oats. get a GM and focus on doing what he does best at the highest level possible
A coach knowing who they are and building a staff to compliment their weakness is very important.
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Mcbealnut

Jan 16, 6:28 PM

Awww I <3 Mark Fox
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FeldhausEffort

Jan 16, 6:30 PM

Sxndman said:
Pope has to hit on a PG next year, just has to. He also really needs to make sure he keeps Williams and Moreno. I’ll throw chandler in there too. I know people get mad at chandler but he has a lot of talent and to get the experienced seniors that everyone always claim they want, they have to go through growing pains with these players.
As long as chandler is coached by MP it's bad for both. MP puts him in positions to fail, and he fails. He's not a PG, he can only dribble with one hand and can't dribble on the run at all. MP doesn't hold him accountable for his pathetic ball screen defense, and he's athletic enough to be at least as good, if not better than Oweh defensively. But a coach is going to have to demand it.
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bigblueplane24

Jan 16, 6:30 PM

We took the back path.

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